Cheese
Cheese is a bizzare, unconventional strategy, often taken in the first few minutes of the game, which is often hard to defeat if the cheese is not scouted but easy to beat if it is scouted. Cheese can wreak havoc on the opponents economy, prevent him from building units, contain him inside of his base, or set back his tech tree and production. However, so much time and money has to be invested in the cheese, that if it fails, the cheeser will be very far behind and will probably lose. Types of Cheese Cannon Rush The Photon Cannon Rush (often shortened to "cannon rush") is a popular cheese in which a Protoss player builds a Forge first instead of a Gateway. They then warp in a pylon in or near their opponent's base, build cannons around it, and use them to take out the opponent's buildings/workers. Often, the first pylon is hidden just out of sight of the victim, allowing less time to react. Cannons and pylons are then "leapfrogged" closer to the base/mineral line, with old cannons protecting new pylons and cannons as they build. The Cannon Rush is hard to defeat because of the Cannons' high DPS (damage per second), and because it often occurs so early in the game that the victim has only workers to defeat it. It cannot be done agaisnt Zerg, as the creep around the Zerg's hatchery will prevent cannons from being placed close enough to strike the buildings or drones (unless a spawning pool was placed close to the edge of the creep). It can, however, prevent zerg from moving out or expanding. This latter strategy is known as a contain, which is significantly easier to defeat than a rush but will likely set the victim back while cheeser techs up and builds more units. A quick way to defeat a cannon rush (if no cannons are up yet) is to take 4-5 workers and destroy the first pylon before cannons can warp in. However, the cheesing probe can warp in another pylon to replace it, so it is also a good idea to destroy the probe before it builds too many pylons and cannons. Placing bunkers, spine crawlers, or photon cannons close to your base will prevent cannons from advancing any further and buy you time to build enough units to destroy the existing cannons. Another way (Terran only) to defeat it is to construct a Engineering Bay and then turn your Command Center into a Planetary Fortress, preventing cannons from being built near it. This was popularized in When Cheese Fails 101 Episode 7, in which Ketroc successfully defeats Champs' cheese using a Planetary Fortress, then kills Champs' Nexus with a Planetary Fortress Rush (this is known as counter-cheese). Six Pool The sixpool (or 6pool) is one of the few Zerg cheeses available, where they skip building drones at the start, instead saving up 200 minerals to build a spawning pool at six supply (hence, why it is called sixpool). This allows very fast production of Zerglings, which can rush inside the enemy base and damage their economy/production before they can wall-off the entrance to their base. Bringing the entire force of drones to assist the Zerglings is also a viable strategy, but is often not used because then the economy will grind to a halt, ceasing production of additional Zerglings. A sixpool is hard to scout, as the spawning pool will likely be close to finished by the time you scout the Zerg's base. This is why many Protoss and Terran players immediatly wall up their entrance with their first few buildings, so Zerglings cannot enter their base. If you do see a sixpool, a good idea is to build static defense. Zerglings are not effective at destroying buildings, so the cannons/spines/bunkers will quickly drive them off. Meanwhile, as your static defense is finishing, don't be afraid to attack the Zerglings with your workers. It will either drive them off or make them focus on killing your workers, allowing the defense to finish. But remember, it is important not to let the Zerglings get a surround on your workers/units, as this will do maximum damage to them. Bunker Rush The Bunker rush is when a Terran player puts a Bunker near or inside his opponent's base, then putting Marines inside it with SCVs around to repair it. This is especially effective against Zerg, as it can prevent them from expanding. Usually the Bunker rush is used as a contain, rather than a full-on cheese. The easiest way to prevent a Bunker rush is to kill the offending SCV with a few of your own workers, before the Bunker finishes. Keep one worker attacking the Bunker, to make sure another SCV doesn't finish it. If it does finish, make sure no Marines may enter it. Planetary Fortress Rush Among the strangest types of cheese, the PF rush involves a Terran attempting to land a Command Center in his opponent's base and turn it into a Planetary Fortress. Often SCVs are loaded into the Command Center, so they can repair it and defend it if the enemy tries to attack it. The Planetary Fortress cheese only works against Protoss, as Terran buildings cannot land on Creep, and if it is a Terran player, they can simply lift off and fly somewhere else. There are two methods for it: 1. Using your first Command Center This involves building an Engineering Bay as fast as possible, and using your main Command Center as the Planetary Fortress. This is a risky tactic, as you will have no income or production back at base. However, it can be done earlier than building an additional Command Center, so the enemy won't have many units to attack it. 2. Building a second Command Center Using a second Command Center to turn into a Planetary Fortress allows the player to keep production up at his base, allowing him to build a few Marines to support the cheese. However, building a Command Center takes time, and the enemy might have some attacking units by then. The easiest way to prevent a PF rush is simply not allowing it to land. The Command Center cannot land if there is a unit under it, so keep a worker unit underneath at all times. If it does land, you will have to destroy it immediately. Use all your attacking units and workers to kill it, and remember to destroy the SCVs first, so they can't heal it.